American · Californian · salad

Baked Goat Cheese with Garden Lettuces

Baked Goat Cheese with Garden Lettuces reads richness 4.9, salinity 4.3 and sourness 4.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a American · Californian salad, about 24 hr 16 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.0 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 4.9 · Salinity 4.3 · Sourness 4.0 · Funk & Ferment 3.8 · Umami 3.6 · Herbaceous 3.5 · Allium 2.5 · Fruity 2.2 · Bitterness 2.1 · Sweetness 1.9 · Warm Spice 1.6 · Citrus 1.5 · Nutty 1.5 · Earthy 1.4 · Floral 1.3 · Heat 0.9

What's in it (12)

• chevre cheese — 340 g
• extra-virgin olive oil — 110 g
• thyme — 2 g
• marjoram — 2 g
• bread crumbs — 90 g
• mixed salad greens — 280 g
• red wine vinaigrette — 15 g
• extra-virgin olive oil — 41 g
• shallot — 25 g
• salt — 3 g
• black pepper — 3 g
• dijon mustard — 5 g

Time & effort: about 24 hr 16 min (16 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 148.3 kcal, 8.7 g protein, 9.4 g fat, 7.1 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. This is the dish that defined a whole style of American cooking, and what is striking about it now is how little there is to it. It is a salad. The proposition — that a menu can be built on what a small local grower cut that morning, and that the cooking should mostly get out of the way — is the entire Californian argument, and this plate is where a large part of the country first encountered it. Laura Chenel's Sonoma goats were the original supplier; American farmstead chevre begins here.
2. Everything therefore rests on the two ingredients. Buy fresh chevre from a farmstead producer, not the vacuum-sealed logs, and buy or grow small lettuces: a mix of oak leaf, little gem, rocket, mache, frisee and a few bitter chicory leaves, picked young. If your lettuce came in a plastic clamshell and your cheese came from a supermarket cold case, make something else — there is nothing here to hide behind.
3. Cut the chevre into 6 rounds about 2 cm thick, using dental floss or a wire rather than a knife so they do not crumble. Lay them in a dish, pour the 120 ml olive oil over, tuck in the thyme and marjoram, cover and leave in the refrigerator 24 hours, turning once.
4. Lift the rounds out, letting the oil drain off, and press each one firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides and around the edge so it is entirely coated.
5. Set them on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a very hot oven, 200 C (400 F), for 6 minutes only, until the crumbs are golden and the cheese has softened and just begun to slump but is still holding its shape. Watch them; another two minutes and they collapse into a puddle.
6. While they bake, whisk the vinegar, shallot, salt, pepper and mustard together, let it stand 2 minutes to take the raw edge off the shallot, then whisk in the 3 tablespoons olive oil.
7. Toss the lettuces with just enough vinaigrette to make them shine — you should not see any pooled in the bowl — and divide between six plates. Set a hot cheese round on each and eat immediately, while the outside is crisp and the inside is warm and loose.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Creamy Chinese Celery Soup — Chinese
• Ensalada Mixta — Argentine
• Fegato alla Veneziana — Italian · Venice
• Rosemary Lamb Stew — British
• Loaded Baked Potato Bar with Broccoli and Cheddar — American

Keep reading: what richness, salinity, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.